GROWN UP TRAVELER

About Me

Hi - my name is Merrilee MacLean.  As I wind down from a 35 year career as a lawyer, I finally have the time to focus on sharing what has been a life-long love - traveling and taking photographs.  I have had the "travel bug" since my first trip to Europe as part of a high school choir tour.  The bug became a sickness when I studied as a college student in the former Yugoslavia, and it settled in for good when I talked a friend into quitting her job so we could backpack around Europe for eight months in our 20's.  I have been traveling and taking photographs ever since.

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This website will focus on stories related to travel.  My companion Facebook Page, Grown Up Traveler, is where I post breaking news and articles I see that I believe would be interesting to travelers.  There is a link on the Articles drop down, or better yet, Like the Page in the box at the bottom of the website, and you will get future posts automatically. My other website, mmacleanphotos.com, featuring the photographs I have taken, is accessible on the Photography drop down menu at the top of this site.  That menu also links to annotated Shutterfly books from various trips I have taken.  

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As the website develops, the stories on the website will hopefully transport you to the amazing places I have been, and experiences I have had, over the past forty years.  I will also share many of the "tricks of the trade" I have learned to make the process of traveling fun and exciting, rather than scary and sometimes depressing (that 6 am Krakow arrival comes to mind).  I have traveled by myself, with a friend or friends, as part of a group, and have arranged sharing houses with a rotating group of friends several times.  I enjoy the planning part of the adventure, and will discuss how the methods have changed over the years.  I still love the trains in Europe - my first rail pass in 1973 was for two months for $150; but low cost airfares and reasonable rental cars and good roads have expanded those options.  And the internet has taken the guesswork out of lodging - with variations from single rooms to apartments to fancy villas available like never before.  This website will cover those kinds of logistical issues, as well as tips for traveling generally.  There will also be stories of travels, and adventures, things to do, and ways to enhance your travel experience.  The goal is to have you love travel as much as I do.

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I encourage you to let me know what you think.  If you have suggestions, either about the website itself, or some of the stories or recommendations, please respond in the Contact Me section.  If you want to join my mailing list, fill in the form at the bottom of the website.  And do tell your friends.  The more, the merrier.

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Merrilee